Hand grenade with safety mechanism

ABSTRACT

A hand grenade of the type in which the withdrawal of the pin releases a lever designed to actuate a fuse or other firingtiming means upon its release has a safety mechanism whereby a partial rotation of the pin is required to enable it to be withdrawn and indicating means is provided to enable the user to determine instantaneously the position of the pin. The safety mechanism is not only capable of preventing undesired detonation, but provides more assurance to the user in the handlines of the weapon.

llnited States Patent 1 Dubno et al.

[451 Feb. 11, 1975 1 HAND GRENADE WITH SAFETY MECHANISM [76] Inventors:Richard C. Dubno; Abraham M.

Dubno, both of 9 Gaylord Dr., both of Brooklyn, NY.

[22] Filed: Jan. 28, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 437,330

[52} US. Cl. 102/64 [51] Int. Cl. F42b 27/02 [58] Field of Search102/64, 65, 81.6

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,421,762 6/1947 Short102/64 2,422,548 6/1947 Hebard l02/81.6 3,119,334 l/l964 Beermann102/81.6

FORE1GN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 103,009 1/1917 Great Britain 102/64Primary ExaminerVerlin R. Pendegrass Attorney,tAgent, 0r Firm-Karl F.Ross; Herbert Dubno [5 7 ABSTRACT A hand grenade of the type in whichthe withdrawal of the pin releases a lever designed to actuate a fuse orother firing-timing means upon its release has a safety mechanismwhereby a partial rotation of the pin is required to enable it to bewithdrawn and indicating means is provided to enable the user todetermine instantaneously the position of the pin. The safety mechanismis not only capable of preventing undesired detonation, but providesmore assurance to the user in the handlines of the weapon.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures l HAND GRENADE WITH SAFETY MECHANISMBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The presentinvention relates to a hand grenade the type requiring withdrawal of asafety pin and release of a lever prior to initiation of a firingsequence and, more particularly, to a system for ensuring greater safetyin such an arrangement.

2. Background of the Invention Hand grenades or like explosive devices,adapted to be thrown manually by the user or to be cast by a firingmechanism for some distance, generally comprise a casing for anexplosive, a detonator mounted in this casing, a firing mechanism foroperating the detonator after a predetermined interval enabling thedevice to be projected into the region at which the explosion isintended to occur, and safety means for preventing or inhibitingpremature detonation of the explosive.

Typical hand grenades of this type are described in US. Pat. No.2,941,471 and the patents therein cited.

Surprisingly, while there have been significant changes in the nature ofthe explosive, the types of detonators and firing pin mechanisms and theconstruction of the casing, there has been no significant change in theoverall construction of an explosive grenade for at least 50 years andprobably more.

Such hand grenades comprise a lever which is pivotally mounted on thecasing and is operatively connected to the firing mechanism while beingspring biased into an outer position. A pin, e.g., a somewhat bentcotter pin having a ring attached thereto, is inserted through a hole inthe lever to retain it in an inner position against the spring forcenormally tending to bias the lever outwardly. When the grenade is to beused, it is held in the hand of the thrower who prevents the lever fromswinging outwardly, withdraw the pin by grasping the ring and drawingthe shank of the pin out of the hole, and then casts the grenade,permitting the lever to swing outwardly and initiate, the firingsequence.

This system has numerous disadvantages. Firstly, it is a common practicefor personnel carrying grenades of this type to hang them from a belt ora garment using the safety-pin ring. While the shank of the pin isgenerally held under considerable frictional pressure, it is notpositively retained by the lever mechanism and hence the grenade may bedislodged and the pin withdrawn by accident, causing injury to thecareless user. Furthermore, in the general handling of the grenades, thepin may fall out and cause premature explosion. In any event there isconsiderable danger involved in presentday designs of the safetymechanism of such grenades.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is the principal object of the presentinvention to provide an improved hand grenade whereby the aforementioneddisadvantages are obviated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety mechanism for ahand grenade which will prevent inadvertent release of the firing lever.Still another object of the invention is to provide a safer hand grenadewhich can be used and handled with greater assurance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These objects and others which will becomeapparent hereinafter are attained, in accordance with the presentinvention, in a hand grenade of the type described, i.e., comprising afragmentable casing having an explosive charge therein, a detonator, anda lever-operated firing mechanism for triggering the detonator, whichcomprises a safety pin for retaining the lever of this mechanism in itsinner position, means being provided between the safety pin and thecasing to enable lateral withdrawal of the shank of this only afterpartial rotation of the pin through a predetermined angle. According tothe invention, means is provided for indicating an armed state of thedevice in which the safety pin is in an angular position correspondingto its withdrawal position. The unarmed state of the device correspondsto a position in which the pin cannot be linearly withdrawn but mustfirst be rotated through a partial revolution. According to theinvention, in the unarmed or safe state of the device, the pin has itsring-receiving bore lying transverse to the axis of the grenade so thatthe grenade can be suspended from this pin without danger of release.The user is thus able to handle the weapon with more self-assurance,objectively greater security and less fear than heretofore.

The safety mechanism, according to the invention, may be of any typeenabling linear withdrawal upon partial rotation and may use bayonet,detent, cam, pinand-slot or screwthread principles as desired. Theindexing means may include colored indicia, windows or the like whichare effective to indicate the armed or unarmed state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other objects, featuresand advantages of the present invention will become more readilyapparent from the following description reference being made to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a hand grenade embodying the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a detail view of a portion of a hand grenade using abayonet-type safety device;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the parts thereof in anotherposition.

FIG. 4 is a side-elevational view of the latter system;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is an elevational view partly broken away showing still anotherembodiment of the invention.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION In FIG. 1 there has been shown a hand grenade whichmay be of the type described in US. Pat. Nos. 1,307,684, 1,375,440,2,203,640 and 2,562,928, which comprises a casing 10 of thefragmentation type receiving an explosive charge, a detonator and afiring train which may be released by a lever 11. In accordance withconventional principles, the lever 11 is pivoted at 12 to the housing 13of the firing train and is adapted to swing outwardly (arrow A) whenreleased by the user after a safety pin 14 having a ring 20 iswithdrawn. As is customarily the case, once the pin 14 is grasped by itsring 20, the pin may be withdrawn perpendicular to the plane of thepaper in FIG. 1 and the lever 11 released to initiate a timing sequencewhich eventually fires the detonator to explode the grenade.

According to the present invention, however, the pin 14 cannot bereleased from the grenade in the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 1but must be rotated through, say into the dot-dash position to enablewithdrawal of the pin and hence arming of the grenade.

In FIG. 2 the safety mechanism is shown in somewhat more detail. Thewall 16 of lever 11, which has a hole 17 through which the pin 14 isinserted, is provided with a radial slot behind which a surface 18 isdisposed having a characteristic coloration, e.g., green, which showsthrough the slot 15 to indicate a safe grenade. The pin 14 has aprojection 19 which is of, say, red or another contrasting colorationbut which is normally concealed behind the wall 16 in accordance withconventional bayonet principles. When the pin 14 is to be released, thering 20 is gripped and the pin 14 rotated counterclockwise (see FIG. 3)until the projection 19 lies in the window 15 and a red coloration canbe seen therein. In this position, the pin may remain for some time andthe red coloration appearing in the window 15 will indicate that thegrenade is active or armed and that only a tuck on the pin is necessaryto release It.

In FIG. 5, there is shown another configuration which differs from thebasic bayonet structure from FIGS. 2 4 and wherein a partial ramp orthread 21 is provided on the pin 22 which has a ring 23 and isreceivable in a hole 24 of a lever similar to the lever shown at 11. Amating ledge 25 cooperates with the ramp 21 to prevent the pin frombeing withdrawn unless it is rotated as previously described.

FIG. 6 shows a modification of the invention in which a noncircularshank of the pin is inserted into a noncircular opening 31 in the wall32 of the lever and is then rotated through 90 to lock the systemagainst inadvertent release of the pin. The pin may here be withdrawnonly after it has been rotated through 90.

We claim:

1. In a hand grenade having a casing receiving an explosive charge andmechanism actuated by a lever pivotally mounted on said casing fordetonating said charge, the improvement which comprises in combination acotter pin releasably receivable in said lever for retaining sameagainst displacement until withdrawal of said pin, a ring swingablyreceived in one end of said pin for withdrawal thereof, and meansenabling axial withdrawal of said pin only upon a partial rotationthereof, said means including an outward projection on said pin adjacentsaid ring and a wall of said lever. said projector being engageablebehind said wall.

2. The improvement defined in claim 1, further comprising cooperatingindicating means on said lever and said pin for indicating when said pinis in angular position enabling its linear withdrawal to release saidlever.

3. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said means includes abayonet arrangement connecting said pin to said lever.

4. The improvement defined in claim 3 wherein said bayonet arrangementincludes a projection on said pin and a slot formed in said lever andclearing said projection in one angular position of said pin relative tosaid lever.

5. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said means includes acooperating thread arrangement on said pin and said lever.

6. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said means includes anoncircular portion on said pin and a noncircular opening formed in saidlever and receiving said pin.

1. In a hand grenade having a casing receiving an explosive charge andmechanism actuated by a lever pivotally mounted on said casing fordetonating said charge, the improvement which comprises in combination acotter pin releasably receivable in said lever for retaining sameagainst displacement until withdrawal of said pin, a ring swingablyreceived in one end of said pin for withdrawal thereof, and meansenabling axial withdrawal of said pin only upon a partial rotationthereof, said means including an outward projection on said pin adjacentsaid ring and a wall of said lever, said projector being engageablebehind said wall.
 2. The improvement defined in claim 1, furthercomprising cooperating indicating means on said lever and said pin forindicating when said pin is in angular position enabling its linearwithdrawal to release said lever.
 3. The improvement defined in claim 1wherein said means includes a bayonet arrangement connecting said pin tosaid lever.
 4. The improvement defined in claim 3 wherein said bayonetarrangement includes a projection on said pin and a slot formed in saidlever and clearing said projection in one angular position of said pinrelative to said lever.
 5. The improvement defined in claim 1 whereinsaid means includes a cooperating thread arrangement on said pin andsaid lever.
 6. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said meansincludes a noncircular portion on said pin and a noncircular openingformed in said lever and receiving said pin.